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June 10, 2011

New Tour Examines the American Revolution from British Point of View

This summer, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation offers a new look at the American Revolution. “A Very British Revolution” is a guided tour that will take guests on a walk back in time and examine questions surrounding the American War of Independence from the point of view of Great Britain.

Starting June 15 at the DeWitt Wallace Museum, the 45-minute tour explores various museum objects illustrating the relationship between the rise of British imperialism and the growing colonial interest in American independence. Every Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. through Aug. 17, guests have the opportunity to examine old maps, portraits, ceramics and more while learning about the developing British Empire and its place in English history.

Just as previous generations of English citizens had fought to ensure their rights through the Magna Carta, the English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution, now Colonial Americans struggled for similar reform. This tour will challenge the past and ask the ultimate question: just how revolutionary was this Revolution?

A Colonial Williamsburg admissions ticket, museum pass or Good Neighbor card provides access to this tour. For more information, call 1-800-HISTORY.

The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg include the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum and the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum. The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum is home to the nation’s premier collection of American folk art, with more than 5,000 folk art objects made during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum exhibits the best in British and American decorative arts from 1670–1830.

The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg are located at the intersection of Francis and South Henry Streets in Williamsburg, Va., and are entered through the Public Hospital of 1773. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. For museum program information, telephone (757) 220-7724.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is the not-for-profit educational and cultural organization that preserves and operates the restored 18th-century Revolutionary capital of Virginia as a town-sized living history museum, telling the inspirational stories of our nation’s founding men and women. Williamsburg is located in Virginia’s Tidewater region, 20 minutes from Newport News, within an hour’s drive of Richmond and Norfolk, and 150 miles south of Washington, D.C., off Interstate 64. For more information about Colonial Williamsburg, call 1-800-HISTORY or visit Colonial Williamsburg’s website at www.history.org.